Somehow, the Clippers managed to look good last week. They’re up to 27th in the poll, after having the bottom spot in a stranglehold for weeks.

Not that it can be said that the Clippers, losers of five of their last six, are playing particularly well. But what’s happening around the NBA lately is that, just as things get tighter at the top of the league as teams like Dallas, Miami and Boston roll through winning streaks, things are also getting tighter at the bottom, where the patsies are getting pummeled.

Ranking the worst teams in the NBA has become a difficult chore, and it seems that we’re witnessing a season in which the divide between the NBA’s haves and have-nots has gotten remarkably wide. That’s got to worry the league -- it’s way too early in the season for there to be eight or nine teams that are basically hopeless.

Consider how bad things are looking for the bad teams:

Remember the Warriors’ 6-2 start? They have gone 2-13 in the 15 games after that.

Charlotte, which is just 2-5 in its last seven games, took a 93-62 drubbing from Boston on Saturday.

Not only have the Pistons lost four straight and eight of nine, they also allowed the Raptors to come back from a 25-point deficit in Detroit on Saturday.

Cleveland has lost seven straight games and allowed 110.0 points per game in that stretch.

Things could get very grim for Minnesota, which is one game into a six-game road trip. Their first showing on the trip was a 31-point loss, dropping them to 1-12 on the road.

The Kings have won twice in their last 17 games, and those wins have come against the Nets and the Wizards.

The Wizards have also lost four straight and eight of nine, allowing 109.3 points in that span.

The Nets, in their defense, have been playing very difficult teams lately. But they haven’t been beating any of them, losing seven straight.

It’s always a spirited debate when it comes to the best team in the league. But picking the worst is much tougher.

Here are this week’s rankings, with last week’s listed in parenthesis.

1. Celtics (1). The win streak continues despite injuries -- on Saturday, C Semih Erden started and played 40 minutes because he was the only available guy besides Kevin Garnett taller than 6-9.

2. Mavericks (2). Interesting note from the Dallas Morning News -- Saturday’s win over Utah pushed the overall franchise record to 1,226-1,225, the first time it’s been over .500 since it started 1-0.

3. Spurs (3). PG Tony Parker has been playing with a sprained middle

finger on his right hand but says he won’t miss any time because of it.

4. Heat (8). Coach Erik Spoelstra had been worried about his team’s

ability to close out games on the road, but a perfect four-game trip helped put an end to that.